City Council sets public sessions April 25 & 27 on Harbour Pte.

Are the 94 property owners in Harbour Pointe subdivision in the City of Belleville interested in being part of a special assessment district that will pay for $2 million worth of street work in their neighborhoods?
At Monday’s regular meeting, the Belleville City Council set two public sessions to present the proposal to property owners, with financial and engineering experts there to explain it all.
The sessions are set for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25, and 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 27, at the Belleville High School Commons (cafeteria). BHS is right next door to the subdivision.
City Manager Diana Kollmeyer is back in Florida, but she left a recommendation to send out postcards to the property owners involved to alert them to the meetings.
Mayor Kerreen Conley said in her opinion it’s better to send out letters that explain how they need signatures to enact a special assessment district (SAD) and how the bonding process takes place. She said the letter could include a mini-agenda and information on what the roadwork in the subdivision would look like.
The council authorized funding for the notices to be sent out.
Planning Commissioner Mike Renaud, who lives in the subdivision, said the plan is to redo the front half of the roadways and patch the back half and “one million dollars is a lot of money.”
He asked if there was anything cheaper they could do, “without all the bells and whistles?”
Mayor Conley said they looked at replacing the concrete with asphalt, but that is more expensive in the long run with asphalt because of the patching and maintenance needed.
DPW Director Rick Rutherford said asphalt has an overall long-term greater cost.
Renaud said Harbour Pointe is the highest-taxed bunch of properties in the city, except for lakeside properties. He pointed out that the property owners along East Huron River Drive got a new free road, Main Street got a free road, West Columbia Avenue residents got a free road.
“But that subdivision and Victoria Commons are not getting anything for all the taxes they paid,” Renaud said, adding his assessment will be 10% of the value of his house.
“I think you guys are fighting an uphill battle,” Renaud said.
Mayor Conley said, “Either we do nothing or we do something … We have to educate the property owners … If we don’t get 51% [of property owner signatures], we do nothing.”
She said they looked at paying off the SAD for 10 years and that seemed too much, so they are considering 20 years to pay it off.
She said they also have to find out if the assessment is a lien on the property or it has to be paid off when you sell the house. If it has to be paid off when it’s sold, “Nobody will sell a house.”
“The amount of road money that comes in is pitiful,” Mayor Conley said of state funds.
“Two million dollars to fix the subdivision,” Mayor Conley said, noting this is for people who live there, people who visit, school buses, garbage trucks.
“This is not going to be an easy meeting,” Mayor Conley said. “The last one wasn’t an easy meeting.” She referred to the initial meeting in December.
In other business at Monday’s 36-minute meeting, the council:
• Approved the request of the Knights of Columbus to solicit donations at Five Points on April 7, 8, 9, between the hours of Friday at noon and Sunday at 6 p.m.;
• Approved accounts payable of $313,645.43 and the following purchase in excess of $500: to All Seasons Landscaping, $567.98 for mower repair from the Cemetery fund;
• Heard Rutherford report the tree at Hillside Cemetery knocked down by the windstorm has been taken down and he filed an insurance claim for the damaged cemetery fence. He said they found headstones were not damaged. Also, there were several broken power poles in the city and the last one was replaced on Saturday. He said they fished trash cans out of the pond and are cleaning up the last of the storm now. He said they had additional lids at Horizon Park;
• Heard Jeff Vernon ask when the council is going to talk about marijuana and Mayor Conley said it is her understanding that if they take no action, marijuana sales will not be allowed in the city. She said the planning commission would have to eliminate the zoning for medical marijuana now in the city;
• Heard Rutherford report that engineers came out to look at the Doane’s Landing seawall last week and, “It’s taken another turn for the worst.” He said the condo association there is actively looking for bids to repair their portion and wants to know if the city wants to join in. “It only lasted 17 years because proper engineering wasn’t done on the seawall,” Rutherford said, adding it is not good to repair what is there because it isn’t engineered right;
• Discussed the bus that is parked on private property at the corner of North Liberty Street and East Huron River Drive. Rutherford said it shows up for a while and then is gone. Police Chief Hal Berriman said nobody has complained and it’s on private property, “but we’ll check”;
• Heard Renaud ask about the federal Community Development Block Grant fund money that Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara announced as being for a block of five communities including VBT and Belleville. Mayor Conley said she didn’t know about it, but she would check into it. Councilman Tom Fielder said VBT Treasurer Sharry Budd is chairperson of the CDBG committee for Wayne County; and
• Heard Mary Talaga thank Police Cpl. Todd Schrecengost and others for cleaning up her three pine trees that were knocked down by the storm. She announced one more downed tree is left in her back yard.